Capstone/Dissertation Title

Author

Term

2008

Capstone

Thesis

Degree Name

MAEd

Abstract

The research question addressed is how does language anxiety affect students' performance? The motivation factor for this capstone was students' fear of using the language in public or in front of peers. This capstone describes what language anxiety is, its effects on students and ways to decrease or stop language anxiety's debilitating effects. Key influence for this capstone was Elaine Horwitz and Dolly Young's book Language Anxiety From theory and research to classroom implications (1991). Language anxiety's effects can run from mild feelings of discomfort to extreme language anxiety, which includes avoidance of class and homework, feelings of inadequacy, and fear of being called on by the teacher. The author developed pair activities, practice tests, information gap activities, and will inform students of what they can reasonably be expected to do in a given period of time.